Canada's Proposed New Anti-Spam Law

According to Pivotal Veracity Canada's parliament is considering a new anti-spam law that marketers should take note of as it can affect your ability to do business with customers north of the border. This legislation In addition to the long established PIPEDA (Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector) laws will affect all marketers hoping to do business in Canada. Some of the specific differences between the US CAN-SPAM law and the proposed Canadian law are detailed below.

Proposed Canadian Law

Individuals can sue spammers.

Prior to emailing, permission must be obtained except in cases where a pre-existing business relationship exists.

Opt-outs must be processed within 10 consecutive days.

Messages must contain either a hyperlink for opt-out or a reply-to address where an opt-out request can be sent.

The opt-out mechanism must remain functional for 60 days after the mailing.

Messages sent by 3rd parties must include not only the purported sender's contact information but the actual sender's contact information (ESP's will have to provide their contact information when mailing on behalf of their clients.)

US CAN-SPAM Law

Individuals can not sue spammers, ISPs can bring suite.

Permission is not required prior to sending email.

Opt-outs must be processed within 10 business days.

Messages must contain an electronic opt-out mechanism, does not specify which kind.

No specification as to length of time opt-out mechanism must be active after the mailing.

ESPs do not have to provide their contact information, CAN-SPAM only requires that the physical mailing address of the advertiser is provided within the body of the message.